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A history-making quartet of Minjee Lee, Min Woo Lee, Jason Day and Hannah Green will represent Australia in Paris, with the four golfers selected by the Australian Olympic Committee today.
Minjee Lee will become the first Australian golfer to compete at three Olympics, Green returns for her second Games while Min Woo Lee and Day will both make their Olympic debut.
Minjee and Min Woo Lee also make history as the first siblings to compete in Olympic golf for Australia. The pair become the sixteenth Australian sister and brother pair to compete in the same sport at the same Games, a record which stretches back to 1920 with swimmers Lillian and Frank Beaurepaire.
The four players all qualified by virtue of their International Golf Federation Olympic ranking at the end of a two-year ranking period. Green and Minjee Lee finished the period ranked seventh and 11th respectively, while Day and Min Woo are Australia’s highest ranked male golfers at 27th and 36th respectively.
Green matched Australia’s best ever Olympic golf finish with a tie for fifth at Tokyo 2020, and has won two LPGA Tour events already this year. Minjee Lee has 10 career LPGA wins, Day 13 career PGA Tour wins, while Min Woo is the reigning Australian PGA champion and achieved a career-best world ranking of 31st in 2024.
Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, welcomed the four athletes to the Team.
“Congratulations to Hannah, Minjee, Jason and Min Woo on earning your spot in the Australian Olympic Team for Paris,” Ms Meares said.
“This group has proven they can perform at a world class level on the international stage and I know they will represent Australia proudly in Paris.
“Minjee will make history twice, as the first Australian golfer to contest three Games and with her brother Min Woo as the first Australian siblings to compete in Olympic golf.
“Congratulations to each of the athletes, Golf Australia and everyone who has helped these athletes book their place on the Australian Olympic Team for Paris.”
The only brother-sister duo to win USGA championships – Minjee won the 2012 US Girls’ Junior and Min Woo the 2016 US Junior Amateur – the Lees will now join Australia’s rich history of Olympic siblings.
“Representing Australia at a third consecutive Olympic Games is truly an honour,” said Minjee.
“The past two Olympics have been among the greatest experiences of my career, and I have no doubt Paris 2024 will only add to that.
“Having my brother in Paris as part of the team will make it a fortnight that our family will treasure forever.”
“Now that it is starting to sink in, representing the Australian Olympic Team alongside my sister at Paris 2024 is actually crazy,” said Min Woo.
“Playing at the Olympics has been a goal of mine ever since Minjee qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016. Now that it is here, I want to do the green and gold proud and will be doing everything I can to come home with a gold medal.”
Australia’s best performer in the Olympic golf competition in Tokyo three years ago, Green has accumulated two LPGA Tour wins this season and is currently Australia’s highest-ranked golfer at No.7 in the Women’s World Golf Ranking.
“I am so thrilled to be once again representing the Australian Olympic Team at Paris 2024,” said Green.
“Growing up in Perth, I never imagined that I could possibly win an Olympic medal but finishing fifth in Tokyo has been a major motivator the past three years.
“I can’t wait to get to Paris and do the green and gold proud.”
Paris will also mark the Olympic debut for Jason Day, a former world No.1 and the 2015 US PGA Championship winner.
At 36, Day is the veteran member of the squad and thrilled to be representing his country in the Olympic arena.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to represent the Australian Olympic Team in Paris,” said Day.
“Throughout my career – whether on the PGA TOUR, in President Cups and World Cups – I have tried to represent Australia in the best way possible.
“I will wear the green and gold with pride in Paris and would love nothing more than to win a gold medal for Australia.”
Golf Australia CEO, James Sutherland, believes all four athletes will serve as wonderful ambassadors for Australian golf during their Paris 2024 campaigns.
“Golf Australia could not be more proud to put these four athletes forward to represent Australia at the Paris Olympic Games,” said Mr Sutherland.
“In Jason, Hannah and Minjee we have three major champions and, in Min Woo, our reigning Australian PGA champion and a likely major winner of the future.
“We are proud of golf’s place within the Olympic movement and I have no doubt that our Paris 2024 representatives will live up to the Olympic ideals during the two weeks of competition.”
The Golf competition will be held from Thursday 1 August to Saturday 10 August at Le Golf National venue in Guyancourt.
Tiger Woods’ former caddie, Steve Williams, headlines the next wave of speakers announced for this year’s Golf Summit in Melbourne.
Many Australians will remember Williams being on the bag for Adam Scott when he broke through at the 2013 Masters, forever etching Scott and Williams into Australian sporting history.
Williams, whose journey in golf began in 1976 with Australian icon Peter Thomson, will share his vast knowledge and experiences on the Tour. He will be joined by an impressive roster of industry heavyweights such as Dr Paul Wood and Will Robbins, sporting success stories in Elle Steele and Bachar Houli, along with the CEOs of the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia. Together, they will equip attendees with innovative strategies and insights to lead, grow, and transform the golf industry.
Scheduled for October 16-17, the Golf Summit is an event by Australian Golf’s peak bodies – the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia – to bring the industry together to engage and influence key decision makers to lead, grow and innovate Australian golf.
Attendees will have the chance to network, share ideas, strategies and best practices to take back to their business to help drive growth and success.
A highlight of the Summit will be the diverse range of panel sessions addressing critical business outcomes within the industry. There will be a panel tackling championing change for women and girls in golf, along with the impact of technology on golf coaching.
The two-day conference will also feature sessions on promoting diversity and inclusion, talent retention and management, biodiversity and sustainability in golf, and leveraging social media for commercial success.
Confirmed speakers for the 2024 Golf Summit:
READ MORE ABOUT THE SESSIONS
The Asia-Pacific region’s premier event welcoming the entire golf industry, tickets for the 2024 Golf Summit are on sale now.
Find tickets HERE.
The Golf Summit is proudly supported by the Melbourne Convention Bureau and the State Government’s National Business Event Program.
The Mining Town series continued this week, with the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am providing three first-time winners on an incredibly wet day in outback Queensland.
Victorians Ben Henkel and Connor McDade were joined by Queenslander Bailey Arnott atop the leaderboard after all carded 6-under 65 on the par-71 regional layout.
Henkel was part of the group of players who gained a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia card at qualifying school earlier this year, and believes this win will give him a lot of confidence moving forward in his young professional career.
“It’s great to get it done, and prove that I can do it,” he said.
“Just knowing that I can knock it around with these pretty talented golfers out here.”
Thanks to a 3-under 68, Queenslander Blaike Perkins managed to leapfrog Tim Hart on the overall Mining Town Series leaderboard. Perkins is at 33-under, with Hart two strokes back at 31-under and a chasing pack five and six shots further adrift.
HOW THE WINNING SCORES UNFOLDED
McDade got off to a rough start, with a double-bogey on the first, but quickly shook that off and preceded to have eight birdies in ten holes. From there it was just about holding on, which McDade managed well.
Beginning on a similar note, Arnott also started his day with a double-bogey, but bounced back incredibly too, the early blunder seeming to spark something in both players.
Arnott managed to add a flurry of birdies together quickly, but his round was highlighted by an eagle mid-round which sparked a strong birdie-birdie finish.
Unlike his competitors, Henkel got off to a positive start, and in his words “stayed very level-headed” the entire round.
An uncharacteristic raking draw when he needed it which led to a birdie and Henkel’s shot-of-the-day, and gave him huge confidence knowing he could pull the shot off under pressure.
WHAT THE WINNERS SAID
Ben Henkel:
“It was one of the days where you just stay really level-headed because it was pretty ordinary weather.”
“Few birdies early to get me in a groove, and then just didn’t really chase it, I knew a score would be out there I just stayed very level-headed and didn’t let the weather affect me.”
Bailey Arnott:
“It was an interesting one. Started with a double, obviously there was some rain in the morning so we expected a bit of a battle in the arfternoon.”
“It’s definitely a monkey off the back. I think everyone feels if you knock on the door for long enough, this is probably four years out here playing Pro-Ams, so to get the monkey off the back and play some good golf is nice.”
Connor McDade:
“I’m over the moon, I’m super stoked. A lot of hard work has gone into this but it’s nice to get one away this early into my professional career.”
“I hit one to two inches on my second hole of the day, so that was a good bounce back after the double. I nearly had a hole-in-one and I’ve haven’t had a hole-in-one before so I’ve been robbed there a little bit.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Ben Henkel 65
1 Bailey Arnott 65
1 Connor McDade 65
4 Danni Vasquez 66
T5 *Seven players tied
NEXT UP
The final tilt of The Mining Towns Swing is up next, with the two-day Blackwater Pro-Am kicking off this Saturday 29 June.
He has played his way onto the Australian Olympic Team yet Min Woo Lee remains motivated to play his way into the lucrative Signature Events in the final weeks of the PGA TOUR season.
Just days after qualifying to represent Australia at the Paris 2024 Games in August, Lee is on debut in Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Currently ranked No.64 in the FedEx Cup points list, Lee needs to play his way inside the top 50 by the time of the Tour Championship to be guaranteed a spot in the $US20 million Signature Events in season 2025.
He played his way into the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year by virtue of a runner-up finish at the Cognizant Classic but has missed out on all seven of the other Signature Events played this season.
It’s a situation he intends to change in the coming weeks.
“I’m not the one to moan about it, but I guess I played every major, which is awesome and amazing. I played into them,” said Lee, who is in his first year as a full member of the PGA TOUR.
“To not like play most of the Signature Events, it was kind of hard to take a little bit.
“I know I’ve got to play better and make the cut-off line at the end of the year and get to play next year.
“Obviously it’s a new thing and all of us are trying to get into those events.”
Adding to Lee’s motivation with just six events left in the before the FedEx Cup Playoffs is a maiden Presidents Cup appearance in Canada in September.
The 25-year-old is currently one spot out of the top six automatic qualifiers for the International Team and is desperate to be part of a team he narrowly missed out on in 2022.
“I felt like I missed out last time by a small margin,” said Lee.
“I’ve been playing a lot better since not making that team two years ago.
“I know the American team is very strong and we’ve got to play very well to beat them but I’m really excited, especially the team aspect.
“I really love playing match play; being with a partner is cool.”
Another Aussie making a debut of sorts this week is Mathew Goggin.
Mat Goggin will put green building and grass coverage at @7milegolf aside this week as he makes his senior golf debut at the @USGA Senior Open.
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) June 26, 2024
Hear his thoughts on his game, and potential opening date in Tassie, via @JimmyEmanuel4 below.https://t.co/TftL91vfRH
The Tasmanian recently celebrated his 50th birthday by qualifying for the US Senior Open, joining a burgeoning group of Aussies in the senior ranks.
Goggin is among eight Aussies at Newport Country Club this week along with the Kiwi trio of Steven Alker, Michael Long and Richard Lee.
Top-10 a year ago, Sarah Kemp teams up again with Canadian Alena Sharp at the LPGA Tour’s Dow Championship, one of six Aussies in the field with teammates from a wide array of other countries.
Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Round 1 tee times AEST
PGA TOUR
Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan
8:56pm Aaron Baddeley
9:51pm Tim Wilkinson (NZ)
2:32am Ryan Fox (NZ)
2:43am Min Woo Lee
3:05am Cam Davis
4:22am Harrison Endycott
Defending champion: Rickie Fowler
Past Aussie winners: Cam Davis (2021)
Prize money: $US9.2 million
TV times: Live 10pm-8am Thursday; Live 2am-8am Saturday, Sunday; Live 1:30am-8am Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
PGA TOUR Champions
US Senior Open
Newport Country Club, Newport, Rhode Island
9:31pm* Michael Long (NZ)
9:52pm* Mark Hensby
10:03pm* Stuart Appleby
10:34pm Richard Green
10:55pm Richard Lee (NZ)
2:51am* Greg Chalmers, Michael Wright
3:22am Rod Pampling
3:33am* Vijay Singh (FI)
3:43am* Cameron Percy
4:04am* Steven Alker (NZ)
4:15am* Mathew Goggin
Defending champion: Bernhard Langer
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1997)
Prize money: $US4 million
TV times: Live 2am-7am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 505; Live 2:30am-7:30am Monday on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo.
LPGA Tour
Dow Championship
Midland Country Club, Midland, Michigan
9:15pm Robyn Choi/Minji Kang
10:10pm Gabriela Ruffels/Esther Henseleit
10:32pm Lydia Ko (NZ)/Danielle Kang
1:52am Stephanie Kyriacou/Olivia Cowan
2:14am Hira Naveed/Sofia Garcia
2:14am* Grace Kim/Auston Kim
2:25am Sarah Kemp/Alena Sharp
Defending champion: Elizabeth Szokol/Cheyenne Knight
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US3 million
TV times: 12:30pm-2pm Friday on Fox Sports 503; Live 7am-9am Sunday; Live 2am-5am Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.
DP World Tour
Italian Open
Adriatic Golf Club Cervia, Milano Marittima, Italy
5pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
8:50pm* Jason Scrivener
9:50pm* Haydn Barron
10:10pm David Micheluzzi
10:30pm* Sam Jones (NZ)
Defending champion: Adrian Meronk
Past Aussie winners: Greg Norman (1988), Craig Parry (1991)
Prize money: $US3.25 million
TV times: Live 9pm-2am Thursday on Fox Sports 505; Live 9pm-2am Friday; Live 10:30pm-2am Saturday; Live 8:30pm-1:30am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Ladies European Tour
VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open
Golfpark Holzhausern, Switzerland
Australasians in the field: Whitney Hillier, Kirsten Rudgeley, Momoka Kobori (NZ), Kelsey Bennett, Amy Walsh
Defending champion: Alexandra Forsterling
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €300,000
TV times: 10am-12pm Saturday; 9am-11am Sunday on Fox Sports 505; 8am-10am Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Korn Ferry Tour
Memorial Health Championship
Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Illinois
3:22am Rhein Gibson
3:44am Brett Drewitt
Defending champion: Paul Barjon
Past Aussie winners: Brett Drewitt (2020)
Prize money: $US1 million
Korean PGA Tour
Biz Play-Wonder Club Open
Club 72 Country Club (Sky Cse), Korea
1pm* Kevin Chun (NZ)
1:30pm Sungjin Yeo (NZ)
2pm Junseok Lee
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: KRW700 million
Challenge Tour
Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge
Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil, Le Vaudreuil, France
4pm Jeff Guan
9pm* Andrew Martin
9:10pm Tom Power Horan
10:30pm Hayden Hopewell
10:40pm* Connor McKinney
Defending champion: Darren Fichardt
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €270,000
Epson Tour
Dream First Bank Charity Classic
Buffalo Dunes Golf Course, Garden City, Kansas
Australasians in the field: Amelia Garvey (NZ), Cassie Porter, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Amy Chu, Soo Jin Lee
Defending champion: Gabriela Ruffels
Past Aussie winners: Gabriela Ruffels (2023)
Prize money: $US237,500
PGA TOUR Americas
ATB Classic
Northern Bear Golf Club, Strathcona County, Alberta
12:50am Karl Vilips
1:30am* Charlie Hillier (NZ)
5:10am* Grant Booth
5:50am* Harry Hillier (NZ)
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000
LET Access Series
MoreGolf Mastercard Open
Varbergs Golf Klubb, Sweden
5:17pm Belinda Ji (a)
9:41pm Hanee Song (NZ)
11:09pm Munchin Keh (NZ)
11:31pm Wenyung Keh (NZ)
Defending champion: Emily Price
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €40,000
When Mat Goggin’s name is mentioned in golf circles these days, it often relates to the Seven Mile Beach golf course the former PGA TOUR regular is building near Hobart.
However, this week the Tasmanian local will be back to his “real job”, with Goggin turning 50 on June 13 and successfully pre-qualifying for the US Senior Open at historic Newport Country Club.
One of eight Australians in the field, Goggin’s chances are buoyed by his recent play at home on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, including a third behind Order of Merit champion Kazuma Kobori at the Webex Players Series Victoria.
His place as one of the “young guys” on the over-50s PGA TOUR Champions circuit also makes him one of the longer players in Rhode Island this week.
“Most of the guys are still hanging in there pretty well but I’ve always been relatively long so I’m still up there. I wouldn’t say I’m one of the shorter guys that’s for sure,” Goggin told Australian media on Wednesday.
Believing his multiple injuries that curtailed regular appearances in the latter part of his regular Tour career has him refreshed and ready to go, Goggin is thriving in the familiarity of the names and faces playing the senior game.
Experiencing the question of “What are you doing here?” from the likes of Ernie Els this week that are common place for each over-50s debutant, Goggin is joined in the field by Stuart Appleby, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy and Michael Wright.
It is a cohort of Australians he is far more familiar with than those at home when making his occasional competitive appearances to sharpen his game for the second career of senior golf.
“It’s kind of funny. I’ve been playing a few events down in Australia, I literally don’t know anyone. Everyone’s like 21, 22, 23, there’s no old guys,” he said.
“It’s kind of funny to come out here… it feels like a time capsule.
“I played a practice round with ‘Apples’ (Stuart Appleby) today, I think I’m going to play with ‘Wrighty’ (Michael Wright) tomorrow and then I’ve seen (Greg) Chalmers and Richard Green. I saw a whole bunch of the guys, so it’s good to see them again.”
Reflecting on playing with the “kids” of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Goggin noted his third at Rosebud as “what we love and what we hate” as a professional golfer.
The one-time world No.48 instantly admits that near misses never fade completely from memory, including playing in the final group at The Open alongside Tom Watson in 2009 where he finished fifth.
“The British Open, I think about that all the time still because it would’ve had such a huge impact on my career,” he said.
“It’s the great opportunities that you lose that keep you up at night and do forever.”
Excited at the prospect of competing once again at a level where he might have the advantage of relative youth, Goggin knows like that week, that a win at Newport would greatly change his future plans.
However, even when preparing for a senior major, the future of his other work is never far from mind.
Goggin revealed the hope to open a loop of holes at Seven Mile Beach in November this year, while is also in the final stages of a council application to build a second golf course on the site.
“When I go to Hobart, it’s basically just flat-out meetings after meetings for Seven Mile Beach and then I’m always waking up to a few emails,” Goggin said of his time spent at his US base in North Carolina.
“Actually, the most stressful part of my day is about 5am when I first check the phone, just waiting to see all the flood of emails from Hobart. Then there’s a quick panic about stuff I’ve got to do, but then realising there’s not much I can do about it now because it’s 10 o’clock at night in Hobart.”
Switching off that course builder part of his brain and focusing only on competing will be a unique challenge for Goggin amongst a stacked field of Hall of Famers this week.
Yet his intimidate knowledge of course design could help around one of the original five USGA member clubs where Goggin’s links golf career highlight and power could be significant assets.
“It’s very much like UK golf. It’s not really a links golf course, but it has the same feeling across the land,” he said of Newport. “It’s not dissimilar to the Mornington Peninsula in a lot of respects in the way that the hills sort of flow.
“There’s a lot of 430, 420-metre par-4s. We played a couple yesterday into the westerly breeze and it was four straight 4-irons – and I’m one of the longer players – into four holes.
“There were guys hitting woods into a lot of holes, which is pretty crazy.
“I’m sure they might adjust that coming into the tournament, but if it gets windy it’s going to be tricky.”
The US Senior Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
The over-50s major swing continues this week with the US Senior Open heading to the historic Newport Country Club, with 12 Australasians teeing it up in Rhode Island.
Australian great Graham Marsh is the only past Aussie winner of the event, triumphing at Olympia Fields in 1997. Here is all you need to know about this week’s players, TV times and host venue.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Bernhard Langer (GER)
PRIZEMONEY: US$4 million
LIVE SCORES: www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
TV COVERAGE: The US Senior Open is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEST.
Round One: Friday 2am–7am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Round Two: Saturday 2am–7am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Round Three: Sunday 2am–7am (Fox Sports 505/Kayo)
Final Round: Monday 2:30am–7:30am (Fox Sports 506/Kayo)
AUSTRALASIAN PLAYER PROFILES
STEVEN ALKER
Age: 52
The lowdown: With eight PGA TOUR Champions victories, including this year’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Alker will be a favourite coming into this week.
The New Zealander sits second on the season long Charles Schwab Cup thanks to five top-five finishes, with his worst astonishingly being a pair of T15 finishes.
Alker was a notable absentee at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, so will be eager to make a positive resumption of his 2024 major season after finishing second at the Regions Tradition.
STUART APPLEBY
Age: 56
The lowdown: A nine-time PGA TOUR winner, Appleby made his living with an incredibly high standard of ball striking and a putter that could catch fire at any moment.
Appelby has had a mixed season so far, but a T14 finish at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship thanks to a final round 67 was a strong showing in the year’s first major.
GREG CHALMERS
Age: 50
The lowdown: In his first senior major of the year, the KitchenAid Senior PGA, Chalmers showed flashes of the competitiveness that earned him a pair each of Australian Opens and Australian PGA Championships.
Sharing the lead at various points, Chalmers eventually finished in solo third at the that week after four rounds in the sixties.
Despite falling just short of a full card at qualifying, everyone’s favourite Twitter follow has made a strong start to his senior career through regular qualifying and good finishes.
MATTHEW GOGGIN
Age: 50
The lowdown: Making his senior golf debut, Goggin was a feature in a number of Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia events last season in-between trips to his much-anticipated Seven Mile Beach course which is under construction.
Having successfully qualified for four US Opens throughout his career, Goggin continued that form this year at Fox Den Country Club, in Knoxville.
A former top-50 player in the world, Goggin demonstrated he still has the game to compete at this year’s Webex Players Series Victoria event, where he finished third.
Looking to make the most of his advantage as one of the youngest players in the field, Goggin could be one to keep an eye on at Newport.
RICHARD GREEN
Age: 53
The lowdown: One of the players to truly thrive post turning 50, Green is a regular presence on the PGA TOUR Champions, although the Victorian is still chasing a first victory on the biggest stage for over-50 golfers.
Just missing out in the year’s second major, Green finished runner-up at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, hoping to go one better and tick off that first win with a major this week.
MARK HENSBY
Age: 52
The lowdown: Providing one of the highlights of 2023 when he claimed the Invited Celebrity Classic after his rollercoaster career, Hensby has yet again been a consistent performer so far in 2024.
Hensby had a disappointing finish to the KitchenAid Senior PGA after a lacklustre weekend, but two top-10s in his last two events is positive momentum heading into this week.
RICHARD LEE
Age: 51
The lowdown: Earning his place in the field through the USGA Qualifying event in Oregon in May, Lee was a formidable player on the Australasian, Asian and Japan tours, as well as strong showings in Europe before turning 50.
Now mostly coaching in New Zealand, Lee’s students will likely be cheering him on from Auckland as he chases what could be one of his larger cheques.
MICHAEL LONG
Age: 55
The lowdown: The tall New Zealander who makes his home in Western Australia headed for Europe upon turning 50, before the pandemic altered his plans after winning the Legends Tour qualifying school.
Four times a winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Long missed the cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, hoping for a better week at Newport.
ROD PAMPLING
Age: 54
The lowdown: A two-time winner on the PGA TOUR Champions, including last year’s SAS Championship, Pampling has long held a reputation as a high quality ball striker with a capability to go very low.
Pampling bounced back quickly from his missed cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA with a top-five finish at the Principal Charity Classic.
CAMERON PERCY
Age: 50
The lowdown: Percy made his senior debut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship after winning Q-school at 49 but having to wait until his 50th birthday to compete.
Having played four events now, including a third-place finish at the American Family Insurance Championship, Percy is quickly establishing himself on the over-50s circuit.
VIJAY SINGH
Age: 61
The lowdown: Despite being more than 10 years into his senior golf career, the World Golf Hall of Fame member continues to outwork the vast majority of professionals of any age.
A five-time winner on the PGA TOUR Champions, Singh has had two T6 finishes this year, however had an average finish after making the cut at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
The Fijian still ranks highly for driving distance among the over-50s and that will be a significant advantage this week, however, as always for Vijay, a good result is dependent on the putter.
MICHAEL WRIGHT
Age: 50
The lowdown: A journeyman who epitomises never giving up, Wright’s big moment came with a hole out at Q School to earn his way onto the PGA TOUR Champions.
Wright’s T17 finish at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship was his best thus far in the over-50s ranks, and as one of the fresh 50 year olds, Wright is one of the longest drivers on Tour.
A very consistent putter, Wright’s competitiveness and resilience are arguably his greatest attributes at the senior majors.
THE COURSE
One of the most historic clubs in the United States, Newport Country Club in Rhode Island was founded in 1893, and played host to both the first US Amateur Championship, and the first US Open in 1895.
The club hosted the centenary US Amateur in 1995 won by Tiger Woods, and welcomed the US Women’s Open in 2006, and is held in high regard as one of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association (USGA).
Endless history aside, Newport Country Club also boasts a serious, and interesting golf course. Originally a Donald Ross design, the course has had a number of remodels and touch-ups throughout the years and will play as a par-70 this week.
Golf architecture enthusiasts (see: Mat Goggin), will especially enjoy this week at Newport, with a classic design back on show that has been largely outgrown by the modern game, with a mixture of interesting raised green complexes and varied bunkering amongst pure playing surfaces.
A close to two-year wait for a win ended in emphatic fashion with Brisbane’s Will Bruyeres taking out the Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am at Emerald Golf Club.
Without a victory on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series since the Northbridge Pro-Am in Sydney in October 2022, Bruyeres backed up a round of 6-under 64 on day one with 7-under 63 in Round 2 and 13-under total.
That was three clear of Tim Hart (66) as Blaike Perkins stormed home with a 63 of his own to snare outright third.
Bruyeres had just one bogey across the 36 holes – the par-3 ninth in Round 2 – but responded with birdies at 11 and 13 to keep the chasers at bay.
“I knew I could make a couple more birdies and just get rid of that mistake,” said Bruyeres.
“It was my only bogey of the tournament so I didn’t really think too much of it to be honest.”
Hunting a sixth straight Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series title, Hart moved into top spot with his runner-up finish, now two shots clear of Perkins with three rounds left to play.
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Playing in the group ahead of fellow Round 1 co-leaders Hart and Harrison Wills, Bruyeres played the role of the hunted from the very first hole.
An opening birdie gave him a one-shot buffer from Wills yet it was an eagle at the par-5 sixth and two subsequent birdies that set Bruyeres apart.
The bogey on nine was a temporary hiccup, birdies at 11, 13 and 17 enough to close out a comfortable win.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“That eagle putt on six was a big turning point for me,” said Bruyeres.
“It just gave me that little bit of leeway, a little bit of breathing room and then I could just fly through the rest of the holes.
“I had a steady start and then just got hot through the middle and then just hit the ball quite nicely the rest of the day and holed a couple putts.
“Nothing else to it. Just a simple day. And a lot of putts holed.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 William Bruyeres 64-63—127
2 Tim Hart 64-66—130
3 Blaike Perkins 70-63—133
4 Jay Mackenzie 69-65—134
5 Jayden Cripps 68-67—135
T6 Nathan Page 68-68—136
T6 Caleb Bovalina 65-71—136
NEXT UP
The Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series continues on Wednesday with the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am and then concludes with the two-day Blackwater Pro-Am starting Saturday.
Aussie pair Hannah Green and Minjee Lee have set their sights on Paris after both finished inside the top 25 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Washington.
The champion in 2019, Green closed with a round of 1-under 71 on Sunday at Sahalee Country Club, finishing level with Lee (74) at 4-over for the championship and tied for 24th.
Former Gold Coast high schooler Amy Yang (72) claimed her first major championship by three strokes at the event that marked the end to the two-year Paris 2024 qualification period.
Although the Australian team will not be officially announced until later this week, Green and Lee can now both look forward to another Olympic campaign given they are both inside the top 15 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
A two-time winner this season, Green will first return home to Perth before heading to France for The Amundi Evian Championship starting July 11.
“Getting the opportunity in Tokyo was an amazing experience,” said Green.
“I’m super excited for Paris to be alongside Minjee as well. Both from Perth and both played junior golf together so it’s really cool for us to both be there. Even her brother (Min Woo Lee) is in the team.
“I think we have really good vibes for the Olympics, and I’m excited to get to Le Golf National.”
Paris will represent Lee’s third straight Olympic appearance, the 28-year-old also excited to share the Olympic experience with her brother for the first time.
“Both of us will be there and it’s kind of nice. I might be watching him maybe on the weekend if I go in a little bit earlier,” said Lee.
“It’ll be pretty exciting to represent our country out at the Olympics and it’s always such a great honour to be able to do that.
“Really looking forward to it.”
Although an Aussie assault never materialised at the Women’s PGA, there were a host of top-10 finishes around the globe.
Mark Hensby (66) produced one of the rounds of the day to climb into a share of third at the Dick’s Open on the PGA TOUR Champions, one clear of fellow Australian Steve Allan (70) who was tied for sixth.
Deyen Lawson finished one shot shy of winner Rahil Gangjee at the Asian Development Tour event in Malaysia and Cameron Smith was the best of the Aussies at LIV Golf Nashville, finishing tied for ninth and nine shots back of winner Tyrrell Hatton.
Photo: Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Results
LPGA Tour
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Washington
1 Amy Yang 70-68-71-72—281 $US1.56m
T24 Hannah Green 71-77-73-71—292 $91,079
T24 Minjee Lee 74-72-72-74—292 $91,079
T46 Lydia Ko (NZ) 75-73-76-73—297 $37,675
T46 Gabriela Ruffels 74-74-76-73—297 $37,675
T52 Stephanie Kyriacou 74-69-78-77—298 $29,771
T60 Grace Kim 73-75-77-74—299 $23,969
MC Sarah Kemp 75-76—151
MC Robyn Choi 75-76—151
MC Hira Naveed 82-83—165
PGA TOUR
Travelers Championship
TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut
1 Scottie Scheffler 65-64-64-65—258 $US3m
Won on the first hole of sudden-death playoff
T39 Adam Scott 74-67-67-64—272 $85,000
T44 Jason Day 71-70-64-69—274 $63,000
T48 Cam Davis 65-71-69-70—275 $49,286
DP World Tour
KLM Open
The International, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1 Guido Migliozzi 68-69-66-70—273 €396,532.65
T51 Andrew Martin 71-71-70-73—285 €8,363.84
T51 Tom Power Horan 73-66-76-70—285 €8,363.84
MC Haydn Barron 75-69—144
MC David Micheluzzi 81-76—157
MC Sam Jones (NZ) 83-77—160
Asian Tour
Kolon Korea Open
Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Korea
1 Minkyu Kim 70-66-71-66—273 $US379,650.72
T28 Travis Smyth 72-73-75-68—288 $5,854.22
T51 Brendan Jones 72-71-79-71—293 $3,576.31
63 Jack Thompson 71-73-78-79—301 $2,854.97
MC Kevin Chun (NZ) 71-75—146
MC Junseok Lee 70-77—147
MC Todd Sinnott 69-78—147
MC Wonjoon Lee 70-78—148
MC Kevin Yuan 75-76—151
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Nashville
The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee
1 Tyrrell Hatton 65-64-65—194 $US4m
T9 Cameron Smith 69-65-69—203 $396,875
T18 Marc Leishman 69-69-69—207 $230,000
T40 Matt Jones 71-72-68—211 $134,000
T48 Lucas Herbert 71-73-70—214 $120,000
54 Danny Lee (NZ) 75-73-70—218 $50,000
PGA TOUR Champions
DICK’S Open
En-Joie GC, Endicott, New York
1 Padraig Harrington 68-65-68—201 $US315,000
T3 Mark Hensby 70-67-66—203 $126,000
T6 Steve Allan 65-69-70—204 $71,400
T13 David Bransdon 68-67-71—206 $39,900
20 Cameron Percy 69-69-70—208 $27,720
T21 Rod Pampling 71-70-68—209 $23,888
T29 Michael Wright 68-69-74—211 $15,210
T44 Richard Green 70-68-76—214 $7,980
T65 John Senden 74-73-72—219 $2,327
T70 Greg Chalmers 76-73-72—221 $1,785
Ladies European Tour
Tipsport Czech Ladies Open
Royal Beroun Golf Club, Czech Republic
1 Marta Martin 69-67-63—199 €45,000
T13 Kelsey Bennett 71-70-67—208 €5,490
T33 Kirsten Rudgeley 70-71-70—211 €2,370
T54 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 69-73-72—214 €1,062
T63 Amy Walsh 74-69-73—216 €795
MC Whitney Hillier 73-78—151
Korn Ferry Tour
Compliance Solutions Championship
Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman, Oklahoma
1 John Pak 64-66-65-70—265 $US180,000
70 Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 69-67-78-78—292 $3,920
MC Aiden Didone 71-74—145
MC Dimi Papadatos 70-75—145
MC Rhein Gibson 73-74—147
MC Brett Drewitt 73-77—150
WD Steven Bowditch 76
Asian Development Tour
PKNS Selangor Masters
Kelab Golf Seri Selangor, Malaysia
1 Rahil Gangjee 66-66-67-73—272 $US30,625
2 Deyen Lawson 69-71-64-69—273 $20,125
T19 Jared Edwards 69-71-74-71—285 $1,869.58
T38 Marcus Fraser 73-71-75-71—290 $1,242.50
MC Lachlan Barker 76-71—147
MC Doug Klein 70-79—149
MC Josiah Edwards (a) 74-82—156
Challenge Tour
Blot Open de Bretagne
Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André, Pléneuf, France
1 John Parry 64-67-63-68—262 €43,200
T40 Connor McKinney 69-69-69-72—279 €1,620
MC Blake Windred 74-67—141
MC Hayden Hopewell 71-74—145
DQ Jeff Guan 70
Epson Tour
Island Resort Championship
Sweetgrass Golf Club, Harris, Michigan
Event reduced to 36 holes due to rain
1 Soo Bin Joo 67-69—136 $US39,375
T33 Fiona Xu (NZ) 74-67—141 $1,875
T41 Cassie Porter 71-71—142 $1,359
T52 Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 71-72—143 $964
T52 Amelia Garvey (NZ) 70-73—143 $964
PGA TOUR Americas
The Beachlands Victoria Open
Uplands Golf Club, Victoria, British Columbia
1 Frederik Kjettrup 63-64-64-68—259
T22 Harry Hillier (NZ) 64-70-65-69—268
T48 Grant Booth 67-67-72-67—273
MC Karl Vilips 70-71—141
MC Charlie Hillier (NZ) 74-69—143
Legends Tour
OFX Irish Legends
Seapoint Golf Links, Co Louth, Ireland
1 Adilson Da Silva 70-72-67—209
Won on the third hole of sudden-death playoff
T16 Michael Long (NZ) 69-73-73—215
T22 Peter Fowler 73-72-72—217
T28 Scott Hend 78-74-66—218
T36 Michael Campbell (NZ) 72-75-73—220
T43 Peter O’Malley 73-77-72—222
LET Access Series
Santander Golf Tour – AVILA
Naturavila Golf, Spain
1 Helen Briem (a) 70-62-70—202
T14 Hanee Song (NZ) 73-70-68—211
T14 Stephanie Bunque 70-67-74—211
MC Munchin Keh (NZ) 73-73—146
MC Belinda Ji (a) 73-74—147
MC Laura Hoskin (NZ) 75-75—150
MC Wenyung Keh (NZ) 73-77—150
Peter Cooke’s decision to take a week off work and chase the sun in Broome yielded an unexpected victory at the Broome Furnishings – Carpet Paint and Tile Pro-Am at Broome Golf Club.
A veteran of 17 years on Tour, Cooke has recently transitioned into a coaching role at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide.
This trip to Broome was as much a winter break to catch up with long-time friends and supporters yet twin eagles in a course record 9-under 63 in Round 2 was enough to come away with a two-stroke victory in the final event of the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series WA swing.
Three back after an opening round of 2-under 70, Cooke’s 63 for a two-round total of 11-under saw him finish two clear of West Australian rookie Jordan Doull (67) with PGA Legends Tour regular Scott Barr (68) outright third at 8-under.
“Days like today, shooting numbers like this, it does make you think, Should I keep going? Should I have a little crack?” Cooke mused post-round.
“Hopefully I can put my coaching rates up after this week.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
When it comes to course records, time is of the essence.
After two opening pars starting from the 13th tee, Cooke went to work.
He made birdie at the 162-metre par 3 15th, eagled the par-5 16th and then birdied the par-5 17th to be 4-under through just five holes.
Five pars and a birdie at the short par-4 second followed over the next six holes before an eagle at the par-4 sixth elevated Cooke into contention.
A regulation birdie at the par-5 eighth got Cooke into double digits under par and he closed it out with a final birdie at the par-4 11th to establish a new scoring benchmark at Broome.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I’m probably not the longest guy out here, but it is not a course that you can overpower,” said Cooke.
“You’ve got to be pretty straight. You can’t make a lot of mistakes and I think it’s just a tough test.
“You’ve got to have a lot of patience and I think this course has over time, taught me patience.
Nine-under today wasn’t a score that I sort of saw out there but, at the same time, if you keep hitting fairways, you get a lot of wedges into greens, there are low numbers out there.
“Today, things just came together really nicely.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Peter Cooke 70-63—133
2 Jordan Doull 68-67—135
3 Scott Barr 68-68—136
T4 Braden Becker 70-69—139
T4 Josh Greer 69-70—139
6 Scott Strange 67-74—141
7 Rick Kulacz 72-70—142
NEXT UP
The two-day Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am reaches its conclusion on Sunday with the Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series to continue on Wednesday with the JET Group Clermont Pro-Am.
Tim Hart’s hopes of a sixth straight Onsite Rental Group Mining Towns Series win have been bolstered by a one-stroke victory at the JET Group Tieri Pro-Am at Tieri Country Club.
One of the most popular stops on the Mining Towns swing, Tieri once again was witness to some spectacular golf, Darcy Boyd and Hart both producing rounds of 9-under 64 across the two days.
The in-form Boyd led by three after his 10-birdie round on day one but it was Hart who finished the stronger, matching Boyd’s 64 in Round 2 for a 14-under total and one-stroke win.
Tied for third at Tieri, James Mee continues to lead at the halfway mark of the Mining Towns Series at 25-under par, one clear of Boyd followed by Blaike Perkins (23-under) with Hart now three back at 22-under.
“You can take one side of the course out of play, just keep it on the planet and then just make a score from there,” said Hart.
“That’s generally what I’ve done for the best part of a decade out here and it’s worked well.”
HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED
Trailing Boyd by four, Hart was forced to play catch-up in Round 2 and wasted little time in making his move.
After opening with two pars Hart reeled off three straight birdies from the fourth hole and then added a fourth at the par-5 ninth.
Birdies at 11, 14, 15 and 18 saw Hart play the back nine in 4-under, his closing birdie at the par-5 first rounding out a bogey-free tournament and victory by one.
WHAT THE WINNER SAID
“I’ve found some form with my long game, which is good out here and managed to just take advantage of this course,” said Hart.
“I love it out at Tieri and it was just good to play 36 without making a bogey and just play solid golf.
“I managed to put the foot down early and made a few putts, which I think’s big out here. If you can see it going in really early, you can sort of feed off that.
“I didn’t really hole much yesterday and then a few went in early today, so it just kept going and a couple more just kept going in.”
LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1 Tim Hart 68-64—132
2 Darcy Boyd 64-69—133
T3 Blaike Perkins 67-67—134
T3 James Mee 67-67—134
T5 Paul Donahoo 67-69—136
T5 Jay Mackenzie 68-68—136
NEXT UP
The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series continues its cross-country stretch with the 36-hole Broome Furnishings – Carpet Paint and Tile Pro-Am starting Friday with the Mining Towns Series to resume on Saturday with the two-day Lunar Mining Emerald Pro-Am.
